That’ll do, Enroth

Jhonas Enroth dueled Marty Biron to a tie through regulation, but in the end lost 3-2, gaining Buffalo another point. 5 out of 6 isn’t bad, considering they’d gotten, what, 1 out of 10 before that? Now to see how they fare against stronger competition, and not fellow basement dwellers.

I know Vanek is catching heat for not shooting on that play late. I liked his patience to move around the sliding defender, and he thought Roy had a better shot. Taken on it’s own, the play is fine. Some would see it as a pattern of Vanek passing up chances, which is true to a point. I think Thomas is just trying to contribute what he can while the goals aren’t coming. Games are more fun when Vanek is sniping, will admit that.

Enroth’s play has put Buffalo in an interesting quandry. He’s winning, something Lalime hasn’t done much of in his time here. His numbers aren’t super-impressive, but he’s made key saves and was strong in the two shootouts. People say he should go back to Portland to continue development, but to what end? Miller is the starter for the forseeable future, so what is Enroth’s career path? Backup goalie is the only option that keeps him here. If there was a trade offer that gave a solid return, I’d do it, but beyond that, what was he drafted for if not to play with the big club?

3 Replies to “That’ll do, Enroth”

Yeah, interesting situation here. Enroth hasn’t played outstanding but has definitely made some good saves. I think if watching recent Sabres hockey can teach us anything, it’s that sometimes it just doesn’t matter how well your goalie plays, the team has to play well in front of him. This team loses consistently with Lalime in net, regardless of how well he plays. If the team can win with Enroth, well, it seems pretty obvious what should be done.

I doubt Sabres co would do something so dramatic over such a small sample size anyways. Waiving Lalime and dealing with the locker room fallout might not be worth it for a small backup goalie improvement.

I’m hoping that the team grew during this time and they can start putting together some solid games in front of a healthy Ryan Miller.